Smith: How to steal a kiss from Ava Gardner

Posted: Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Loran

Smith

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When the news surfaced that Mickey Rooney would be coming to Athens this fall, I thought about Bill Godwin, the late Georgia linebacker who never formally met Rooney but who once danced with Rooney's former wife, Ava Gardner.

Godwin's encounter with the North Carolina starlet came about after the Rose Bowl, New Year's Day, 1943. An Arkansas farm boy, Godwin became a rugged linebacker for Wallace Butts, who was in his fourth year as the Bulldog's head coach.

Butts had energized the spirit of the little town of Athens when he coached his 1941 team to the Orange Bowl. Georgia fans were anxious for the Bulldogs to enter bowl competition and had wished for a Rose Bowl opportunity for years.

It almost came about in 1929, but a loss to Georgia Tech in the final game knocked the Bulldogs out of a trip to Pasadena. There was, however, a serendipitous result. President S.V. Sanford, for whom the stadium is named, was so incensed at Tech for watering down Grant Field to thwart Georgia's fast backfield that he vowed to build the finest football stadium in the South. He succeeded gloriously.

It was a case of losing the battle but winning the war. Sanford Stadium, with its gleaming hedges, has long been recognized as one of the most beautiful venues in college football.

At last, the Bulldogs had the opportunity that the local gentry had pined for, even though the world was at war and fears were high that the Japanese might find a way to inflict damage to the West Coast.

The players knew that they would all head off to war when they returned from the Rose Bowl, but they had the time of their lives in Pasadena where they cavorted with movie stars such as Bob Hope, Susan Hayward, Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable, Spencer Tracy and Joe E. Brown.

Years ago, Godwin wrote a book with former Bulldog broadcaster Jim Koger about his life. He titled the book "Cotton Pickin' Linebacker."

In the book, Godwin recalled a party after the Rose Bowl game at the Biltmore Hotel. Buoyant spirits had enveloped the Bulldog players after winning the game. As Godwin recalled, he scanned the room, looking for a dance partner. He spied a beautiful brunette as the band played "One O'clock Jump." She accepted his invitation for a jitterbugging session. When a slow number ensued, he soon was dancing cheek to cheek. "Dadgummed if she didn't reach right up and kiss me, juicy and tenderly, right on the lips - right there on the dance floor," Godwin wrote.

"I returned that soft, sweet kiss and then we rubbed our cheeks together again and floated some more around the room. 'My name's Bill Godwin,' I whispered softly, romantically. 'What's yours?'

"'Ava Gardner,' she replied. 'I'm Mickey's wife.'"

Stunned, Godwin recalled that his knees became shaky. "About that time a small hand lassoed her arm and pulled it down from around my sun-baked neck." It was then that Godwin's eyes met the glare of a red-faced Mickey Rooney. "Come on," Godwin remembered Rooney saying to Ava. "You're going home."

Kiss and tell? Bill Godwin had a lot of fun doing that over the years. Who could blame him?